Started 'Couch to 5k today' Anyone keen?

[deedadumble 1,033]

Finished Ragnar Relay and finally home again. It was in the top five of my most life-changing experiences.

I loved all three of my runs, but they were all so different. The first was 5.9 miles at about 8pm. The first part of it was down a gravel path. The rest was on the side of the road. Most of the road did not have a shoulder or a bike path. Very scary at times, but I had a good pace for the conditions. The second run was 2.9 miles in the morning. I had very little sleep... maybe 1 hour on the sidewalk of a school where we exchanged runners and then another 1.5 hours in the back seat of our van. This was my best run and I had 5 "kills" (passing other runners) and I only got passed once. The final run was 3.5 miles in the early evening as the sun was going down heading into Key West over the final bridge. It was extremely challenging because it was hot, I was so tired, and my back was cramping up.

I loved running with awesome athletes. Many of the runners on my team place in their age divisions in runs in this area. I learned a lot from them and made wonderful new friends. I didn't know anyone on the team. My regular running buddy works for one of the women on the team and I heard from her that they needed a last minute substitute last Monday.

I loved running the race as a part of a team. The team didn't worry about how fast you were running, their only concern was supporting you as a runner, whether it be going forward and stopping to offer you Water or just cheering you on as you were running.

The only thing I wasn't prepared for was the lack of sleep. I didn't get much sleep on Thursday night (maybe 3 hours) before meeting the team Friday morning to drive to Miami where the race started for us at 11:30am (they stagger start times to keep the race and exchanges from getting crowded). I got 2.5 hours of sleep Friday night. After the race ended on Saturday we drove back to Miami and got to our hotel at 2:30. Then got up at 8am to drive back to Clearwater.

Overall it was an amazing experience. They have Ragnar Relays all over the country and I highly recommend them if you want to really challenge yourself.

Here's our team pic and the bling:

[mistysj 1,939]

Dee that sounds like such a cool experience. Isn't it amazing how much you have changed your life?

I ran the end workout of couch to 5k today just to benchmark myself. It felt short! I have even increased my walking speed during the warmup and cooldown to 5.5 kph. I'm running at around 8.5 kph which is much faster than when I finished couch to 5k in nov even though it still isn't a 30-minute 5k. In the 30 minutes running with 5 minutes walk either side I JUST got to 5k.

So don't worry about your speed when you are doing this program. I routinely run twice as long as that in time and my speed is increasing.

[LisaT678 225]

Deedadumble that sounds so amazing! Congratulations!

[deedadumble 1,033]

How is everyone doing? Is it me or does the site seem extra dead lately? No one is posting on any of my long running message threads.

Had a crappy run on Sunday. Planned on 10 miles and only made it to 6 before my whole body started hurting. Had to call for a pick up from my husband. First time I've ever had to do that. Yuk!

So kinda worried about this weekend's run. I'm doing the Disney Royal Family 5K on Friday at Epcot and the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Sunday. This is a pretty special run for me because the Royal Family 5K was the first 5K I ever ran back in 2010 when did C25K the first time with my two BFFs. It took me about 48 minutes. This time I'm hoping to run it in <35 min. I'm just hoping to complete the half and have fun and take a lot of pictures. I've never done that on a Disney run before, so it should be fun.

[scarlet333 386]

I know it does seem a little dead and particularly this thread. I have not posted because I have nothing good to report since I have not been able to run since Super Bowl sunday since we have had snow storm after snow storm since then. I have been doing the elliptical instead. I am looking forward to getting outside again.

The runs seem like such fun and you are a true inspiration to me so please keep posting!

[mistysj 1,939]

I know it does seem a little dead and particularly this thread. I have not posted because I have nothing good to report since I have not been able to run since Super Bowl sunday since we have had snow storm after snow storm since then. I have been doing the elliptical instead. I am looking forward to getting outside again. The runs seem like such fun and you are a true inspiration to me so please keep posting!

I have purposely replaced one of my runs per week with a really high resistance workout on the elliptical. I think it's good to have variety in what we are asking our bodies to do. My current schedule looks like:

Monday - long run

Tuesday - BodyPump

Wednesday - fast run

Thursday - Zumba

Friday - elliptical

I think I have said it before but I never thought I would be the person in the gym five days a week!

As to the threads being dead, I guess it goes in phases.

[jess9395 5,449]

I am so inspired by you guys!!! I am so excited to join your ranks!

I am ten weeks out from surgery and in the middle of week five of couch to 5k! I finished a 20 minute run today which just blew me away! It was a steep increase from my five minute runs a few days ago and my eight minute runs last session. I wasn't sure I could do it, but I did!

My sister runs marathons and is encouraging me. I have signed up for 5K's in April and May and for the Disneyland half marathon weekend Labor Day weekend (5k and 10k).

I love reading all your experiences!!!

[deedadumble 1,033]

I am so inspired by you guys!!! I am so excited to join your ranks! I am ten weeks out from surgery and in the middle of week five of couch to 5k! I finished a 20 minute run today which just blew me away! It was a steep increase from my five minute runs a few days ago and my eight minute runs last session. I wasn't sure I could do it, but I did! My sister runs marathons and is encouraging me. I have signed up for 5K's in April and May and for the Disneyland half marathon weekend Labor Day weekend (5k and 10k). I love reading all your experiences!!!

That's awesome! I started about a year ago, a little over a month after surgery. I love seeing new runners in here! It's wonderful that you have a sister that can support and encourage you. I am just now meeting runners in my area. I love making new friends that prioritize fitness.

I would LOVE to do the Disneyland Half. That's on my bucket list of races, but I'm not signing up for anything right now. My last race this year will be the OKC Memorial Half Marathon in April. I'm doing the half and running the marathon relay with my cousins. My sister was a first responder (RN) and my cousins and I are running it in her honor (she has PTSD from some things that went on during response and being attacked at work in the ER). It will be an emotional race for sure.

After that race I'm going to get my knee injected with Orthovisc (hyauluric acid lubricant). It takes 3 weeks of injections, but relieves a lot of my pain. After that I'm going to try to get plastic surgery done (arms, boob lift, and tummy tuck). Recovery from that will take at least 3 months, so I won't be running again until the late fall.

[scarlet333 386]

I know it does seem a little dead and particularly this thread. I have not posted because I have nothing good to report since I have not been able to run since Super Bowl sunday since we have had snow storm after snow storm since then. I have been doing the elliptical instead. I am looking forward to getting outside again. The runs seem like such fun and you are a true inspiration to me so please keep posting!

I have purposely replaced one of my runs per week with a really high resistance workout on the elliptical. I think it's good to have variety in what we are asking our bodies to do. My current schedule looks like:

Monday - long run

Tuesday - BodyPump

Wednesday - fast run

Thursday - Zumba

Friday - elliptical

I think I have said it before but I never thought I would be the person in the gym five days a week!

As to the threads being dead, I guess it goes in phases.

I agree with you Misty mixing it up helps keep out bodies guessing and challenged. My workouts have become:

Sunday -5k run

Monday -Strength training dvd

Tuesday -5k run

Wednesday -high intensity elliptical

Thursday-Strength training dvd

Friday -5k run

This assumes weather cooperates if not more elliptical. I also have found I change strength training dvds every few weeks

[deedadumble 1,033]

The Disney Princess Half was AMAZING! I hurt a lot more at the end than I did on my last half, but made it in under 2:45, which was my goal. I had heard that the race gets really crowded at spots, but never had that happen. No races for me until April! Going to take most of the week off to recover. Just looked at my FitBit and it recorded 30,000 steps yesterday!!! Wow!

[LisaT678 225]

The Disney Princess Half was AMAZING! I hurt a lot more at the end than I did on my last half, but made it in under 2:45, which was my goal. I had heard that the race gets really crowded at spots, but never had that happen. No races for me until April! Going to take most of the week off to recover. Just looked at my FitBit and it recorded 30,000 steps yesterday!!! Wow!

Congratulations!

[mvickyway 256]

Wow, almost 3 hours of running is so impressive! Congratulations

[erp 2,016]

My next 5k is this Saturday. It is supposed to rain and I have not been running lately. Ugh. Gonna have to fit in a couple of miles on the treadmill today. I know I will finish it but my time will probably be not so great.

[deedadumble 1,033]

My next 5k is this Saturday. It is supposed to rain and I have not been running lately. Ugh. Gonna have to fit in a couple of miles on the treadmill today. I know I will finish it but my time will probably be not so great.

The best thing is to just get out there and do it! Make sure you have a poncho so you don't get soaked. Don't worry about time. My first 5K last year I ran the first 1/2 and then did run/walk intervals for the rest. I still felt like I accomplished a lot because I got out there and didn't stay home.

[scarlet333 386]

Really pushed myself today and did 3.5 miles. It was one of those days when I felt like I could keep going. It took me almost 40 minutes going to try to increase pace a little ( had to stop and tie my shoe laces 2x).